People often say the frontier high technology at present promotes the higher technology in the next generation. Generally speaking, no one can deny that Japan is leading the world in industrial technology, especially in the field of high technology at the moment. One thing that should not be overlooked here is the fact that Japan is not just taking the lead in a single area but in a variety of fields. For instance, the research on nanotechnology or photocatalytic systems originated in Japan, and the future developments are eagerly anticipated people in the world. It stands to reason that the higher the mountain, the broader the base.
Superior and excellent industrial technologies and those products manufactured by such technologies are only available by an accumulation of many highly advanced interrelated technologies consisting of raw material development, designing, installation of manufacturing facilities, inspection and measurement. Furthermore, creativity, insight or artistic sensitivities are also vital. Such a technology as attaining maximum purity in raw materials is an important technology that has maintained the high levels of Japanese industrial technologies, and creates certain items that can only be manufactured in Japan.
Copper that has six nines (6N) or greater purity and is used for audio cables falls into this category. Exploitation of 6N copper was started and promoted by Nippon Mining Co. Ltd.(currently known as Nikko Materials Co. Ltd.) in 1985, and they succeeded in its mass production in1987. Prior to the current name Nikko Materials Co. Ltd. was called the Japan Energy Corporation, and its original name was Nippon Mining Co. Ltd.